[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkle http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/narrator3_4524.jpg]]]][[caption-width-right:350:"With speed and dexterity astonishing for a woman of her advancing years, Mother bastes the turkey, tosses the salad, and mashes the potatoes!"]]

->''"How d'you do and hello, I'll be running the show, I'm your host and emcee."''-->-- '''The Cat In The Hat, Theatre/{{Seussical}}''', ''Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!'''

"''[[DescribeTopicHere Describe Narrator here.]]''"

[[SelfDemonstratingArticle That's what the sign had said, anyway.]] And so, [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife as if compelled to do so]], [[VideoGame/TheStanleyParable Stanl-]] I mean the Troper sat down at [[TroperDemographics his]] computer screen and began to type...

A character, sometimes part of the story proper and sometimes completely external to it, who acts either as the storyteller or as a framing device. A Narrator by definition breaks the FourthWall by addressing the audience to tell them the story. Sometimes, the Narrator is also responsible for presenting AnAesop to the audience at the end of the story (as in ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' and its [[FollowTheLeader imitators]]).

To be a Narrator, the individual must directly relate to the story in some way, if only as the person telling it. For example, Creator/AlfredHitchcock was ''not'' a Narrator for ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'', because his footage was independent of and had no bearing on the story or stories it appeared with. Creator/RodSerling ''was'' a narrator, because he specifically introduced each story individually, often provided a lead-in to set them up, and provided a closing after the story footage ended; (okay, and in one episode he actually ''was'' assumed to be present in-universe, since an in-story character erased him from existence as a closing joke).

Sometimes the Narrator can also take on aspects of a GreekChorus or be [[LemonyNarrator otherwise weird]], but a pure Narrator does not offer their own opinion on the action; he just lays it out -- and occasionally delivers a punchline or moral. A Narrator is one of the primary ways of providing {{Exposition}}.

One way of subverting this trope is to [[InteractiveNarrator have one or more in-story characters able to hear the narrator]] (as in most instances, the characters do not hear the narrations), and refuse to do what the narrator describes. Another is to [[UnreliableNarrator make the narrator a complete liar]].

See NarratorTropes for specific types of narrators.

----!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* The ''Manga/DragonBall'' series. Recaps the previous episodes. And closes the final scene. On occasion, he narrates in the middle of episodes. The Funimation Texas dub narrators are infamous for gravely voiced, "Last time, on Dragon Ball Z!" The Japanese dub sounds like an elder man telling a story.** In the Japanese version, Creator/JojiYanami is the narrator for all of the series. In the Funimation dub, Brice Armstrong narrates DB, Creator/KyleHebert does DBZ, Andy Chandler does DBGT and Doc Morgan does DBZ Kai.* Detective Manzou (a.k.a. "The Saw"), in ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo''. Oddly enough, his narration has a tendency to transcend time, as he has narrated about future events which he could not feasibly be alive long enough to be knowledgeable of, like Vincent van Gogh, modern Japan's feeling regarding same-sex relationships ("getting back to the Edo period"), the Zen movement in the 1960s, and the cross-cultural popularity of baseball in Japan and America.* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'' gives us Kyon, who gives us an on-the-fly narration [[InnerMonologue in his head]]... perhaps. The title character sometimes responds to his narrations. It's never really made certain as to whether he's saying much of the narration [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud out loud]], or just to himself. Haruhi's own nature further confuses things.** In the original novels, what Kyon says out loud is often (but not always) typeset as narration, which intentionally confuses the reader as to when he is speaking and when he is thinking.* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' had an interesting variation on this: in the first two seasons, most episodes began with the previous one being recapped by a character and ended with narration by a generic narrator. However, the third season begins a new-year-is-new-universe format similar to SuperSentai, and from then on, episodes are narrated by one of the previous year's characters!** Of course, this is just for the dub...which is somewhat abandoned in ''[[Anime/DigimonSavers Savers]]'' in favor of a next episode preview. One of the characters still recap the previous episode, but only when it's needed.** For Adventure and 02 the generic narrator (who does more of the narration in the original like the recaps, which makes more sense as sometimes the characters end up talking about things they can't possibly know about) is in the epilogue revealed to be [[spoiler:Takeru (TK in the dub) who's become a novelist writing about their adventures in the digital world]]* The unnamed Narrator from ''Manga/BoboboboBobobo'' frequently acts as goofy and strange as the rest of the characters, such as when he decides to speak in a bad western accent for an entire episode or when he's forced by the producers to [[RhymesOnADime say everything in rhyme]]. Due to the NoFourthWall nature of the show, both he and the characters sometimes get on each others' nerves.* Who could forget the narrator from ''Anime/SpeedRacer''? [[CatchPhrase Unknown to Speed, Racer X is secretly his older brother, Rex, who ran away from home years ago!]]* ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' begins every show with a Narrator telling the audience a fairy tale. Sometimes it's from the (fictional) fairytale that one of the characters is from, sometimes it concerns a character's backstory, and sometimes it's a story that's somehow related to the episode. Drosselmeyer also serves as an odd narrator in some scenes, appearing on-screen to question details about the characters and the scene, and to occasionally tell the characters (who can rarely hear him) what they ''should'' do. [[spoiler:Considering he's actually writing the story, it makes sense for him to be the narrator.]]* Judging by [[YouLookFamiliar sharing voice actors]] the narrator for the openings of ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' may possibly be [[spoiler:Simon at the age in the epilogue]].** He is.* Alphonse Elric in the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime adaptation]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist''. In ''Brotherhood'', it's implied to be [[spoiler:Father]].* ''Manga/{{Kaiji}}'' has a particularly popular narrator, due to his overly [[SeriousBusiness serious]] tone and use of [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic overblown metaphors]] to describe what's going on.* ''Anime/ShinMazinger'''s Narrator may be THE MOST [[HotBlooded HOT BLOODED]] Narrator. EVER! Oh, and he's also a LargeHam as well.* The ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' narrator explains all the scientific Keys to Victory without really letting emotion into it. He doesn't need to - explaining ''how'' the MonsterOfTheWeek will be getting its ass(es) handed to it in through what is basically the Japanese version of Creator/MorganFreeman is enough.* ''LightNovel/OokamiSan'' has Shirai Kuroko as a LemonyNarrator who also makes frequent observations about the main heroines' [[ACupAngst lack of endowments]].* The narrator of ''Manga/SgtFrog'' is a typical narrator, usually summing up the episode with a little piece of wisdom at the end of each segment. However, everyone is aware of his existence. He even appears on screen [[TheFaceless (wearing a mask) ]] and is sometimes called upon by the characters. He's offered Natsumi fashion advice, tried to keep a stranded Keroro company, and even [[ItMakesSenseInContext provided his voice for a fake invasion video]].** He's only a typical narrator in the Japanese version. In the dub, he openly hates his job and tries to separate himself from the insanity. In one episode, he actually quit his job because the series recycled a plotline too many times, and a new British narrator replaces him until he comes back at the end. He also only does the show because he's deep in gambling debts, apparently.* The narrator in Anime/CodeGeass appears to be [[MaleGaze C.C.]], based on also being voiced by Creator/{{Yukana}}. She primarily narrates the opening to an episode, recounting important past events or narrating important pieces of information.* ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' sometimes uses a narrator who would set up the premise of the episode or go over plot points that the audience may have missed from previous episodes.* ''Manga/OnePiece'' uses one occasionally. Especially notable once in the Skypiea arc, where they each managed to individually go in entirely different directions than they were [[NoSenseOfDirection supposed to]], he gave up on them.* ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia'' has Hatou narrating every now and again, increasingly so after a certain point when she is the only person who can observe the story being told.* The narrator in ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' appears to be [[TheSmartGuy Armin]], based on also being voiced by Creator/MarinaInoue. He primarily narrates the opening to an episode, recounting important past events or narrating important pieces of information.* ''Manga/FairyTail'':** Lucy Heartfilia becomes this from time to time, especially after every arc, as if she's writing the events of the story in a book, a diary, or a letter. Appropriate, as she's an aspiring novelist with a habit of writing letters to her deceased mother.** In the first TimeSkip, Levy [=McGarden=] becomes the narrator in the BadFuture that was supposed to happen after the disaster that would have plagued Fiore.** In the Japanese version of the anime, Creator/HidekatsuShibata is the narrator. In the English version, Bob Magruder narrated the series until his death, after which he was replaced by Jim White.* ''{{Manga/HunterXHunter}}'' has a narrator who typically speaks at the ending of the episode and later on, particularly in the Chimera Ant arc, extensively explains the characters' powers, mental states, and miscellaneous information important for the story.* ''Anime/SpaceDandy'' has a narrator, voiced by Masaaki Yajima, who interacts directly with the heroes despite not being physically present, and sometimes forces them to act when their [[IdiotHero stupidity]] would otherwise prevent the plot from advancing. [[spoiler:In the final episode, it's revealed that the narrator is {{God}}.]][[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]* ''ComicBook/KingdomCome'' has a dramatic subversion of this. Norman [=McKay=] has been chosen by the Spectre, embodiment of {{God}}'s vengeance, to be the one who witnesses the downfall of the world. As they look, separate from reality but able to observe it, upon the members of the Justice League debating the ethics of what they've done, suddenly the Flash, who exists on all dimensional levels at once, turns around and plucks a very surprised Norman [=McKay=] out of the air.* ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' usually doesn't use a narrator, but sometimes makes an exception. A perfect and funny example was when two characters were going to have sex, and the story [[SexyDiscretionShot jumped to another person]], with a narrator explaining that they deserved a little bit of privacy.* ComicBook/TheSandman would occasionally make use of narration. Sometimes it would be by one of the series’ characters and other times it would be anonymous but fairly poetic.* One of Creator/FrankMiller’s signature tropes is his usually hard boiled style narration.* ''ComicBook/{{Nextwave}}'' has some fairly odd narration.** “Nextwave is in your room and touching you stuff”* For the Frankenstein segments of Creator/GrantMorrison’s ComicBook/SevenSoldiers the narrator was also a LargeHam.* One of '''Creator/StanLee's''' key tropes, True Believers!* Virtually all of Creator/KurtBusiek's stories use narration, sometimes by a character in the story and sometimes by an omniscient narrator.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* Parodied until the break of dawn by the ''Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' [[TheFilmOfTheSeries movie]]. The narrator not only narrates the action, he talks to the audience (at one point assuring them "[[NeverSayDie Nobody dies in this movie]]... they just get really big boo-boos"), corrects the actors when they mishear his description and at one point gets into an argument with one of the {{Mooks}} over how he's describing him, even rewinding the movie just to give him a hard time.* ''Film/ThreeHundred''. At the end of the film, the {{Narrator}} turns out to have been [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis relating the entire tale]] to his fellow Spartans.* The Creator/AdamSandler flick ''WesternAnimation/EightCrazyNights'' had narration as well.* ''Film/LittleChildren'' plays this oddly straight, with a narrator explicitly saying what the characters are thinking at a given moment. It's surprisingly effective, though frequent PBS viewers will be rather weirded out, as the narrator they use is Will Lyman, the voice of ''Frontline'' and many an episode of ''Nova''.** And then for the football game near the end, it turns into an AffectionateParody of NFL Films, with Lyman doing a great impression of the late John Facenda, who narrated just about everything they put out while he was alive.* ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'' is very meta about this: the narrator is an author writing about the main character. [[InteractiveNarrator The character can hear the narrator]], and most of the film is spent trying to find out who she is. [[spoiler:They meet.]]* In the vein of that film is ''Film/{{Click}}'', in which the main character's life becomes a DVD of sorts. The narrator is James Earl Jones.* The Wizard in ''Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982'' [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis explains much of the story]] while it's happening on screen. Then again, it's [[CompellingVoice Mako's voice]], so it's not that bad.%%* Harry Lockheart in ''Film/KissKissBangBang''.* ''Film/AChristmasStory'' is narrated by the adult Ralphie.* ''Film/TheNeverendingStory'' suddenly sprouts a narrator only at the very, very end. It would be all too easy to construct a lofty critical reason for this, such as, "It's to emphasize thematically that the real story is only beginning etc..." but in all likelihood it was just because of earlier scenes being cut or a sloppy mistake in the film's writing or editing.* ''Film/FiveHundredDaysOfSummer'' features a particularly [[LemonyNarrator citrusy]] one.* The Criminologist fulfills this role in ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow''.** "I would like ([[AudienceParticipation You would, wouldn't you?]]), if I may (No, you may not), to take you on a strange journey (So strange they made a movie out of it!)."* ''Film/TheHallelujahTrail:'' Veteran western character actor John Dehner provides an ongoing commentary on the supposed historical context surrounding events, sometimes including maps and arrows to help the viewer keep track of just where everyone is.* ''Film/RocknRolla'' makes use of this by having the [[GenreSavvy genre-savvy]] [[TheDragon dragon]] Archy explain to the audience how his boss and London's underworld works.* It's entirely possible to just listen to ''Film/{{Casino}}'' from another room and understand almost everything that's going on because of the detailed narration.* The first two movies of Creator/LarsVonTrier's American trilogy, ''Film/{{Dogville}}'' and ''Manderlay'', feature Creator/JohnHurt as the narrator.* PlayedForLaughs in the short film ''The Gunfighter'' (2014). The unnamed gunfighter walks into a Western saloon, only to find a mysterious voice describing everything that's about to happen, such as an impending gunfight. When the gunfighter urges everyone not to listen to the voice because he has no intention of killing anyone, the narrator starts describing embarrassing secrets everyone in the bar is hiding until the gunfight breaks out anyway.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* Chaucer's narrator in the ''Literature/TheCanterburyTales''.* Lemony Snicket, the narrator of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'', is essentially omniscient, yet remains a distinct character. He never plays a direct role in the action, but is clearly intertwined with the events: his two siblings are major characters, his picture appears once, and he [[spoiler:loved the protagonists' mother, before she married their father]]. He also appears, unidentified, in The Penultimate Peril, though the character in question is referred to in the third person.* To some extent, Mike Hanlon in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/{{It}}''. Between every section of the book there is an interlude where Mike narrates the history of It in the form of a documentary journal.* Every adventure in the ''Literature/HankTheCowdog'' series is told by Hank himself.* ''Literature/ProfessorMmaasLecture'' is written down by an "impartial chronicler" who supposedly has witnessed all events first-hand, which doesn't explain how could he know the characters' private thoughts, or know what happened in places where the characters were explicitly alone.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* Creator/RodSerling in ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959''.* Ron Howard's voiceovers in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''.* Richard Dean Anderson sometimes serves as a narrator in ''Series/MacGyver'', either to reveal a chunk of backstory or to describe the principles of his BambooTechnology.** Lucas Till does the same thing in the [[MacGyver2016 reboot series]].* Waylon Jennings as the Balladeer in ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard'', though his narration was usually restricted to a QuipToBlack along the lines of, "Them Duke boys are in a whole heap of trouble."** Or "In case you're wondering what's going on, so. Am. I."* Likewise George, of ''Series/DeadLikeMe'', who narrates from a distance, sometimes showing omniscience and talking directly to the audience, and sometimes just within her head.* Classic example: ''Series/TheUntouchables'' was narrated by famous columnist/political commentator Walter Winchell. His distinctive, urgent, sharply voiced, melodramatic announcements became a television icon, selling corny set up lines similar to this: ''"As Al Capone and his henchmen talked of murder over steaks and bootleg champagne, Eliot NESS and his UNTOUCHABLES made plans to topple his empire of crime!"''* ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "The End Of Time" has a [[ManBehindTheMan character]] known as The Narrator, who even helpfully fills us in on the plot so far in the middle of the first half. [[spoiler:He's also known as [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence Lord]] [[PresidentEvil President]] [[OmnicidalManiac Rassilon]], possibly using an alias.]]* Jim Dale in ''Series/PushingDaisies''.* JD of ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' narrates his own life in his head, as well as the lives of nearly everyone he has regular contact with, so he is essentially the narrator of the show. Lucy Bennett takes over this role in the last season.* Future-Ted Mosby (from the year 2030) in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', like JD above, is practically omniscient from the viewers' perspective, so he qualifies as a narrator too.* Most ''SuperSentai'' series have a narrator to handle recaps of previous episodes and OpeningNarration, but ''Dekaranger'''s deserves an honorable mention. Anything, from the mechanics of the TransformationSequence to Jasmine's PsychicPowers and Sen's thinking pose would be explained ''every time''. Up to and including TheMovie and the GrandFinale. Most probably tuned him out around the middle of the series.** The most notable example for ''Dekarangers'' is probably the Judgment system. ''Every time'' the judgment system is activated, the narrator explains how it works, even in the finale and special movies.* Earl Hamner Jr. is the voice of the older John-Boy Walton in ''Series/TheWaltons.''* ''Series/BurnNotice'' has its main character, Michael, narrate a lot of the story. Most likely this was to allow him to explain the clever tricks he was doing without the need of [[TheWatson a Watson]] hanging around all the time. It also serves as the gimmick of the show.* Main character Zack Morris did this at least once in every episode of ''Series/SavedByTheBell''. Unlike many examples, instead of narrating over the activity, he would actually talk directly to the camera.* William Conrad's omniscient narrator on ''Series/TheFugitive''.* ''WesternAnimation/ThomasTheTankEngine'': The Narrator was the only voice on the show until season 13 and provided all the voices for all the characters. When season 13 arrived, all the characters got their own voices, but the narrator remained.* Mary Alice Young (an omnipresent [[PosthumousCharacter dead]] character), on ''Series/DesperateHousewives''.* Stefan Salvatore of ''Series/TheVampireDiaries''. Although Elena is the central character and protagonist, Stefan is the one who is telling the story about Elena and the other characters through his eyes and his point of view. This was established in the series Pilot. * Lucas Scott of ''Series/OneTreeHill''. He would always begin and end each episode with a literary reference. * ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'': Peter Jones.* Several ''Series/{{MASH}}'' episodes feature a character narrating a letter to someone back in the States.* The titular character Plop serves as the narrator for each episode of Series/KabouterPlop by {{Creator/Studio100}}.* Shawn Spencer on ''Series/{{Psych}}'' tries to do this in the middle of a case. Gus quickly shuts him down.* Gonza, the butler of the Saejima clan, serves in this role in Series/{{Garo}}: Makai Retsuden.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]* Burl Ives' Snowman character in the ChristmasSpecial ''WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer'' is a hybrid of Narrator and GreekChorus.** Creator/FredAstaire fills the same role in ''WesternAnimation/SantaClausIsCominToTown''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pinballs]]* Creator/DataEast's ''Pinball/TheAdventuresOfRockyAndBullwinkleAndFriends'' brings the entire cast of ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' along, including the Narrator.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]* The obscure Canadian kids show ''Series/ChickenMinute'' had Ulysses, an [[EggshellClothing eggshell-clothed]] chick, as the narrator.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Radio]]* Chris, of ''Radio/AdventuresInOdyssey'' fame. In the early days of the show, she had a good deal more air-time and personality, and occasionally interacted with the characters as well as introducing the story and setting the scene. By now, though, she has spent the better part of the series briefly introducing the show, then showing up at the end to explicitly state the moral of the day and relevant Bible verses before moving on to the credits.* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': On the radio, a narrator introduces the show and gives a brief introduction. Often enough, the introduction passes to Miss Brooks who gives comments of her own on her role and reaction to the upcoming events. Sometimes, the narrator or Miss Brooks give another short narration after the message from the the sponsor.* The gangster parody ''DickieDickDickens'' has two narrators who tell the story in tandem, with the one often adding additional tidbits to the other's stated information. Occasionally they'll disagree with one another about what's relevant to the narrative, or contradict each other on minor details, but both tend to over-dramatize the events and nearly worship the titular character.* Garrison Keillor provides the narration for most of the segments on ''Radio/APrairieHomeCompanion'', including Guy Noir's PrivateEyeMonologue, and the show's signature "News from Lake Wobegon".[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]* The Narrator from ''Theatre/JosephAndTheAmazingTechnicolorDreamcoat''. Though the play would be fine without her (with her lines distributed to the other characters), it seems that [[Creator/AndrewLloydWebber ALW]] wanted to have [[TheSmurfettePrinciple at least one woman]] in the show who actually had a part.** Except that the original narrator was actually portrayed by a man until it premiered on Broadway more than decade after [[Creator/AndrewLloydWebber ALW]] and Tim Rice wrote it.* The Stage Manager of Thornton Wilder's play ''Theatre/OurTown'', who routinely addresses the audience and offers commentary on the characters' actions.* The Narrator of the Music/StephenSondheim musical ''Theatre/IntoTheWoods'' [[spoiler: becomes a more tangible character in the second act and gets sacrificed to the giant's wife]].* The Narrator of ''Theatre/PassingStrange'', who is meant to be the grown-up version of the Youth the story revolves around, and who was [[OriginalCastPrecedent originally played on Broadway]] by one of the show's co-writers, [[OnlyOneName Stew]].* The Cat in the Hat in ''Theatre/{{Seussical}}''.* In ''One Slight Hitch'', PB Coleman, Courtney's younger sister, serves as the narrator in the opening and closing scenes.* Adam narrates in ''Theatre/LikeDyingThingsDo''* [[CaptainObvious The Narrator]] in ''Theatre/{{Finale}}''.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' put an interesting twist on this, that the Prince himself was the narrator, and at save points would say, "Would you like to take a break for now?" and if he got killed would say, "Wait, no, that's not how it happened..." In the end, [[spoiler:It's revealed that he's telling the story to Farah, his love interest from the game, after undoing the game's events via time travel. Naturally, she doesn't believe a word of it. Later, in ''[[VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheTwoThrones The Two Thrones]]'', after having prevented any of the events of the first game by changing the flow of time in the second (bear with me here...), the game ends with the Prince, once more with Farah, beginning the same narration that opens The Sands of Time.]]* A very similar conceit is used in ''VideoGame/{{Sacrifice}}'' where the wizard Eldred is telling the story of why the world is ending to the seer Mithras.* ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} VII: Crusaders of the Dark Savant'' featured an active narrator describing the game world to the party, frequently offering a cynical view of what the party's uncovered.* Tidus is technically the narrator of the entirety of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX;'' the introduction actually takes place [[HowWeGotHere near the end of the game]], and Tidus tells us "his story".** Yuna narrates the sequel.* Marquis Ondore narrates, via his memoirs, several key points in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII.''* Alazlam is technically the narrator of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics.'' Though he doesn't get involved in the actual story scenes, his "Brave Story" menu allows you to replay any of them, and gives his description of what happens. Plus, he has the final words in the ending, not counting the last "bonus" scene. Daravon, who runs the Tutorial menu, appears sneakily in the game via the Mediator skill "Mimic Daravon" -- which puts enemies to sleep!** It's also implied Alazlam Durai is getting this information from the "Durai Reports", written by his ancestor Olan Durai (who hangs around at the periphery of the plot through much of the game, only actually appearing in battle once)* In the 2004 version of ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'', the events of the game are narrated by the man who's reading the tale (as voiced by the late Creator/TonyJay). He and the eponymous Bard (as voiced by Cary Elwes) frequently bicker throughout the game, discussing issues like [[KleptomaniacHero the morality of claiming items from chests for one's self]], or [[MoneySpider the absurdity of finding money]] [[RandomlyDrops or sellable goods from killing various creatures]].* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins,'' the voice of Duncan provides narration at the very beginning, explaining how the Grey Wardens first began to fight the darkspawn, and again near the end, announcing the heroes' victory and the joy of the people at the coronation of whomever the {{player character}} chose to rule Ferelden.* The FramingDevice of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' features TheNarrator, Varric Tethras, being interrogated by a person who is after the true story of Hawke, the PlayerCharacter and Varric's old friend/rival. Notably, every now and then Varric lapses into {{Tall Tale}}s, making the interrogator interrupt him and demand to return back to the truth. [[UnreliableNarrator How much more exaggeration Varric manages to sneak in without her noticing remains open.]] ** He even, at one point during the game, narrates Hawke's actions ''to Hawke,'' prompting him/her to remind him how much s/he hates it when he does that - suggesting he does it a lot.** Unsurprisingly, Varric's voice actor Creator/BrianBloom was drafted to reprise this role when Creator/BioWare established the ''Dragon Age Keep.'' After the player establishes the choices they made (or wish they had made) in the first two games, they have the option of sitting back and listening to Varric narrate their adventures.* ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}'' has Rucks, an old man who narrates your adventures as you go through the game. [[spoiler: The ending subverts this, as it turns out that Rucks's narration is him telling the story to Zia, and at the very end he doesn't know what the Kid will decide to do.]]* ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' is narrated like a novel, and said narrator describes the actions and choices of the player before they even happen. If you [[OffTheRails don't do whatever it is he is narrating]], he gets increasingly irate.* Like many children's point-and-click adventure games at the time, ''VideoGame/OlloInTheSunnyValleyFair'' has one. Actually, it featured two: one for the storyline and one that describes certain objects, events, and activities when they are clicked on.* ''VideoGame/ZettaiHeroProject'' have a narator telling the game endings. voiced by ''Creator/NorioWakamoto'' in japanese.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]* ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' had Donut narrate his play to explain how the Reds and Blues would up in the future. He calls his role as "a faceless voice used by poor writers".* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'': The pilot episode kicks off the story and the setting with a female narrator giving a brief overview of the history of humanity and the world, ending on a dark, bitter, pessimistic note that foreshadows a coming darkness. Her speech is concluded by a male narrator who strongly implies her bitterness is connected to a fall from grace and that the solution to the coming darkness can be found in a 'smaller, more honest soul'. The male narrator is quickly revealed to be [[BigGood Professor Ozpin]]; the female narrator isn't revealed until the Volume 3 finale [[spoiler:and is in fact the GreaterScopeVillain [[HumanoidAbomination Salem]]]].* Internet Example: the "[[http://www.videosift.com/story.php?id=707 Flash animation]] "It's WebAnimation/DrTran" ({{NSFW}} for language) has a a movie trailer narrator harass and fluster a small child.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]%%* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'':%%** Spoofed in a [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060722 summer 2006 installment]].%%** spoofed again [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=080714 in the summer of '08]]* ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'' has two narrators. Antimony does the bulk of the narration from some unspecified point in time. (According to [[WordOfGod Tom Siddell]], [[LiteraryAgentHypothesis she's telling the whole story]], even the bits without narrator-text boxes.) And Tea (that white-haired girl) serves as a fourth-wall-breaking [[MrExposition Miss Exposition]] on a few of the end-of-chapter bonus pages.* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' has a narrator who sometimes interacts with the characters.* In ''WebComic/GoldCoinComics'', Lance complains about having to narrate about his past.* The BLU Spy in ''Webcomic/CuantaVida''.* Jamie in ''Webcomic/{{Distillum}}'' is the occasional narrator.* ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'' has Narrator, a crazy young woman who thinks she's a narrator, but is really schizophrenic.* The introduction for the first print volume of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has a narrator, who's revealed to be a guy with a microphone who was up until the reveal always off-panel. The Order uses him as monster bait, and after a couple last comments as he's running away, there's no more narration.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]* ''Literature/BabeRuthManTankGladiator'' is narrated by a priest, 2000 years after the events supposedly took place.* A weird example is the Narrator from [[http://chimerabazaar.blogspot.com/ The Chimera Bazaar's]] spin-off [[http://nightmareabyss.blogspot.com/ Nightmare Abyss]] who is a main character.* In ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'', public radio host Cecil is always the narrator (we rarely even hear other characters speak), often a bystander to events, and occasionally a protagonist in them. And hoo boy, is he [[LemonyNarrator Lemony]] at times, although he tries to maintain at least the pretense of journalistic distance.* Corin Deeth the III acts as this for the ''Podcast/KakosIndustries'' shareholder announcements. He is also the main character and him playing this part only seems to be one of his many job requirements. * In ''Podcast/TheMagnusArchives'' Jonathan the archivist serves as narrator for the series as a whole, reading out each statement about an alleged supernatural encounter and giving his comments. Through him, each statement-maker is also the first-person narrator of their own story (occasionally we instead hear it in their own voice, when the archivist makes a recording of a new statement instead of one he found in the archive, though Jonathan still adds comments of his own).

* In ''Blog/CrossingKevinsCrossing'', the blog is narrated by the main character who tells stories feacturing the misadventures of themselves and others.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* The habit of Creator/MorganFreeman playing narrators was taken to its logical conclusion in a ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' sketch, where Morgan Freeman stars in a show called ''The Narrator'', and each episode is nothing but him talking.* The narrator is parodied with in the old ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' cartoons, including one point where he makes a character in the cartoon crash his plane into the top of the mountain with the warning, "Let that be a lesson to you: never monkey around with a narrator."* The narrator in ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' (as well as the two spin-off movies) was not only a narrator but often a character. The cast frequently spoke to him, the characters talked about him, and at one point the villains robbed him. And, in TheMovie, being reduced to moving in with his mother and narrating his own life when the show was cancelled, as shown above.* The narrator of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'', starting out every episode with, "The City of Townsville:" and ending every episode with a variation of, "[[SoOnceAgainTheDayIsSaved So, once again, the day is saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls!]]" In the FreakyFriday episode, the Narrator ended up sounding like Bubbles at the end.* The Storyteller in ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian''.* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Woodland Crittr Christmas"* Parodied in one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents''. Timmy wishes for Super Friends, to replace his old boring friends. He then begins to hear a voice over about his new buddies. Wanda promptly explains the Narrator comes with the Super Friends package.* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has a French-accented narrator inspired by Jacques Cousteau, who seems to be "studying" [=SpongeBob=] and friends. He rarely interacts with the characters, save for one memorable moment where, as he was narrating, [=SpongeBob=] [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou ran over him.]] One OverlyLongGag has him waiting so long that he quits, and a new narrator is hired.* The narrator of ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'' has so little fourth wall that he regularly appears on-camera in a recording studio. He interacts with the characters so often it's more noteworthy when they ''can't'' seem to hear him, has been fired, physically attacked...the list goes on.* The narrator for the British cartoon ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'' tended to break the fourth wall; sometimes complaining about the direction of the story or making atrocious puns (only to receive a phone call from the show's producers, telling him to cut it out). In "Once Upon A Timeslip" he developed reality warping powers: "It is now 12:15 as they..." (The landscape transforms into medieval England) "Look, I said 12:15 I didn't mean 1215 AD." The remainder of the episode became a Robin Hood parody. Another typical narration line from one episode:--> "Meanwhile... Look, is that all I have to say in this bit, 'meanwhile'? Well, I was on my tea break..."* A ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' cutaway shows Peter narrating his own life, ''aloud'':-->'''Peter:''' I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I looked with a grimace at the questionable meal Lois had placed in front of me. Of course I would never tell her how disgusted I was with her cooking, but somehow I think she knew. Lois had always been full of energy and life, but lately I had begun to grow more aware of her aging: the bright exuberant eyes that I had fallen in love with were now beginning to grow dull and listless with the long fatigue of a weary life. ''(Lois knocks him out)'' I awoke several hours later in a daze.* In ''WesternAnimation/WordGirl'', other than opening and closing each episode, the disembodied narrator oftentimes interacts with the titular hero to help her and sometimes the villains, also.* ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' was narrated by Huey Freeman, though mainly in the first season [[OutOfFocus due to his diminished role in later seasons]]. Later on in the series, other characters occasionally took the narrator role in certain episodes, such as his brother Riley, his grandfather Robert, Uncle Ruckus, and even Colonel Stinkmeaner.* ''WesternAnimation/WordParty'' has an interactive one that can converse directly with the viewer.* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': Episode 139 featured a narrator, who the cast found so annoying that [[BlackComedyBurst Stumpy got Mr. Cat to shoot him with a bazooka at the end of the episode.]][[/folder]]-----> And so, on that note of -- triumph? ends our description. I hope you'll join me again for our next episode of ''Wiki/TVTropes.''-> [[foldercontrol]]